The U.S. multifamily market remained strong to start 2024. Now that pandemic-related migration trends have settled, a diverse group of markets has risen to the top of the rent growth list.

Key fundamentals of the U.S. multifamily remained strong to start 2024. Despite fears of oversupply, rent growth remained stable and vacancy rates remained near historical lows.

The first quarter opens a new chapter for the small multifamily market after a year where the subsector demonstrated its strength and resiliency amid stiff economic headwinds.

The U.S. multifamily market continued to show signs of slowing at the end of 2023, although demand remained robust, with high home prices leading younger generations of higher-income households to choose renting over homeownership.

In the previous two years, Sun Belt markets dominated the top rent growth lists, as pandemic-related re-shuffling settled. In 2023, the list of top markets became much more diverse.

The most recent America’s Rental Housing 2024 report published by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) takes a detailed look at the state of the rental housing industry.